Age Limit

Phil Hersh's article calls the Olys age limit the "Lipinsky rule" but there is a niggling feeling in my brain that the age rule was voted on and set to go in effect before Tara appeared at the Olys. Didn't the commentators say, repeatedly, that if she won she would be the youngest Oly champ in perpetuity because of the age ruling that would go into effect the following year?
Linny

I believe the new rule (15 by July 1) took effect for the 1996-1997 season. But since Tara had already skated at Worlds 1996 at 13, she was grandfathered in for Worlds 1997 even though she was still only 14.

The ISU allowed the Jr. Worlds-medalist loophole for underage skaters from the 1996-1997 season til the 2000-2001 season, when the loophole was permanently eliminated.

If Tara was born June 10, 1982, then in MARCH 1996, in her first trip to Worlds, she was 13 years and 9.5 months old. In MARCH 1997, when she won Worlds, she was 14 years and 9.5 months old. In FEBRUARY 1998, when she won the Olympics, she was 15 years and 8.5 months old.

Tara won 97 Worlds when she was still 14, and then won the Olympics when she was 15
If Tara was born 6/10/82, then she turned 15 three weeks before what would have been the July 1 1997 deadline. So even if the rule was in effect in 1998, Tara could still have gone to the Olympics.
If the rule was in effect in 1997 then Tara couldn't have skated at 1997 Worlds.
The rule may have been sparked by Tara's World Championship victory, but had nothing to do with her win at the Olympics.
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In addition this is an ISU rule, not an IOC rule. The IOC doesn't have any age restrictions on skaters or anyone else that I know of, so we may see an ISU reversal on this issue if Japan decides that they want to fight for Mao's right to skate in Turin. If the ISU refuses, the Japan Fed. might take the ISU/IOC to court to force the ISU to allow her entry, or order the IOC to accept her without the ISU's ok. Either way, thjis could be a battle between Japan and $peedy. And any defeat for $peedy would be a victory for skating in general.
They could argue that the ISU can set age requirements for their own competitions like Worlds, but that only the IOC has the right to do so for the Olympics.
For the overall good of skating, I'd like to see $peedy lose one and possibly make some long term enemies in Japan.
Besides, it would be interesting to see if Mao can derail Irina in Torino, although I think that the way Irina is scoring nothing is likely to stop her.

The rule was posted before Lipinski was in the Olympics, but she was exempt because she had already competed at a World Championships the year before (in Canada I believe)

Edit - actually the rule was implemented before she won Worlds - she should not have been at worlds in 97 but she was let in with the "grandfather" rule because she had been at the previous world championships, before the new rule was implemented.

I think she would have been old enough to go to the Olympics either way.

Tara won 97 Worlds when she was still 14, and then won the Olympics when she was 15
If Tara was born 6/10/82, then she turned 15 three weeks before what would have been the July 1 1997 deadline. So even if the rule was in effect in 1998, Tara could still have gone to the Olympics.
If the rule was in effect in 1997 then Tara couldn't have skated at 1997 Worlds.
The rule may have been sparked by Tara's World Championship victory, but had nothing to do with her win at the Olympics.
.
In addition this is an ISU rule, not an IOC rule. The IOC doesn't have any age restrictions on skaters or anyone else that I know of, so we may see an ISU reversal on this issue if Japan decides that they want to fight for Mao's right to skate in Turin. If the ISU refuses, the Japan Fed. might take the ISU/IOC to court to force the ISU to allow her entry, or order the IOC to accept her without the ISU's ok. Either way, thjis could be a battle between Japan and $peedy. And any defeat for $peedy would be a victory for skating in general.
They could argue that the ISU can set age requirements for their own competitions like Worlds, but that only the IOC has the right to do so for the Olympics.
For the overall good of skating, I'd like to see $peedy lose one and possibly make some long term enemies in Japan.
Besides, it would be interesting to see if Mao can derail Irina in Torino, although I think that the way Irina is scoring nothing is likely to stop her.

The IOC doesn't set the ground rules for any sport. It's the international association for each sport that sets the rules, and the ISU is the international association for figure skating and speed skating. The Japanese Federation can appeal to the Court of Appeals for Sport (CAS), but they aren't likely to win.

In any case, the JF has already said they will not fight the ISU rules.

I believe the new rule (15 by July 1) took effect for the 1996-1997 season. But since Tara had already skated at Worlds 1996 at 13, she was grandfathered in for Worlds 1997 even though she was still only 14.

The ISU allowed the Jr. Worlds-medalist loophole for underage skaters from the 1996-1997 season til the 2000-2001 season, when the loophole was permanently eliminated.

That's exactly how remember the rule - it was Lipinskis participation at 1996 that got her in to the next worlds.

Well, Ulrich Salchow was born in Aug. 1877. He started competing at Worlds shortly after it started in the late 1890s, so about age 20, and won his first title at 24 in 1902. He then won the 1908 (summer) Olympics at age 31. More impressively, though he came back and competed (but didn't medal) at the 1920 Olympics, at which point he would have been 42 or 43 (that was also a summer Olympics, but I don't know what date it was held).

There were probably other middle-aged competitors in those days, when the sport was more technical and less athletic.